LinuxWorld 2005 Tour is Eye-Opening

Armed with his press badge, voice recorder and camera, our clandestine Jim Lynch sneaks away from the forums for one day to see what's brewing at Linux World 2005.

Its been a while since I went to Linux World, but since it was in Boston this year, I couldnt resist the lure of bonding with my fellow geeks. Im still getting through this years round of bronchitis though so I didnt spend quite as much time at the show as I did back in 2003. But I still got some good stuff, and I even saw Elvis! Arriving at Linux World...A Day Early!Since the Hynes Convention Center is right near the Prudential Center, I stupidly figured that Id be able to park in the Prus parking garage. Unfortunately they were doing construction on it. How the heck do you do construction on a garage? After its built, whats left to do? Make it prettier? I ended up not being able to get a spot in the Prus garage.
After driving around for a while, I finally found a garage right down the street that was off to the side. I hadnt noticed it on my first pass to the Hynes convention center. Thank god! There is nothing worse than driving around in Boston traffic trying to find a parking space.

When I went in, I got directions to the press room and went upstairs to hang up my coat and see what kind of goodies they left on the table for us. Yep, we "important press people" usually get free food in the press room. Frankly, its the real reason I go to these things. I love free food. The rest of the show is there to pay for the free food for us ink-stained wretches.

Unfortunately, some sort of horde had hit the damn refreshment table before I could get there! There was almost no food left! What an outrage! Disgusted beyond belief at the gluttony of my fellow journalists, I left the press room and meandered downstairs to the show floor.
It was here that I received my first clue that the show hadnt even opened yet and would not open until the next day! Yes, you read that right. I got to the show on Monday but the show didnt start until Tuesday! Well duh. What can I say? I could have sworn it said Monday on the Linux World Web site.
When I tried to walk onto the show floor the security guard stopped me and said "vendors only." I looked at her in shock! "Hey, Im press, lady!" I said arrogantly, outraged that anyone would dare to stop me from walking onto the show floor (remember that I still hadnt realized Id gotten there a day early). She turned out to be nice, even given my haughtiness, and said simply, "Okay, I didnt see you. Go ahead."
Pleased at the awe-inspiring power of my press credentials, I stepped out onto the show floor and began to wonder why people were still unpacking things. I noticed the Gnome booth so I went over to chat with somebody and asked him what was up with the unpacking. Needless to say my media arrogance and haughtiness evaporated when I learned that Id come a day early.
Read the full story on ExtremeTech: Linux World 2005

Jim manages the PC Magazine and ExtremeTech forums, and is responsible for building community in the forums on both sites. He started managing PC Mag's forum on ZiffNet on CompuServe many years ago. He then transferred the staff and expertise to the Web. He left ZDNet when it moved to San Francisco and came back to Ziff after the split from ZDNet, right before ExtremeTech launched. You can get more background at his personal site: www.jimlynch.com/profile.htm.

His favorite movies include Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Three Musketeers (1973 version), Dune (Sci Fi Channel version), and gobs of others. He can't live without his iPAQ Pocket PC,he uses it at the gym and everywhere else,and his DVD collection features more than 200 films. His favorite game is Tribes (PC), which is more than three years old but he still plays it all the time.

Jim likes interacting with the folks in the forum and the content. 'I Love both of 'em,' says Lynch. 'It's what makes the job fun and interesting.'